Guinea votes on new constitution to move from military to civilian rule

Guinea’s 6.7 cardinal voters eligible to formed a ‘yes’ oregon ‘no’ ballot connected a caller constitution.

Guinea is holding a long-awaited referendum connected a caller constitution that could let coup person Mamady Doumbouya to tally for president and would modulation the African federation from subject to civilian rule.

Polls opened and volition adjacent aboriginal connected Sunday for the 6.7 cardinal eligible voters to formed a “yes” oregon “no” ballot connected a caller constitution that would lengthen the statesmanlike word from 5 to 7 years, renewable once, and make a Senate, one-third of whose members the president would straight appoint.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Berlin Conference: How Europe carved up Africa 140 years ago
• list 2 of 3Which countries are included successful Trump’s latest circular of adjusted tariffs?
• list 3 of 3Who are the 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation?

In the capital, Conakry, wherever governmental campaigning was banned connected Friday and Saturday, radical gathered astatine polling stations aboriginal connected Sunday to formed their votes.

Reporting from Conakry, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris said the authorities has deployed information officers with a authorities connection outlining that “more than 40,000 information unit person been deployed to supply information for this election”.

“People are expecting that the referendum volition effect successful the support of the draught constitution that immoderate radical telephone awesome and progressive,” Idris said.

“However, radical who are opposed to this referendum are saying it volition legitimise the existent subject rulership to enactment successful the election. The transitional charter said, successful fact, nary subordinate of the existent subject authorities volition participate, but a batch of radical fearfulness that the referendum volition effect successful a constitution that volition let each subordinate of this authorities to enactment successful the [next] election,” helium added

A billboard shows Guinea’s interim president, General Mamadi Doumbouya, earlier the law referendum successful Conakry connected September 18, 2025 [Misper Apawu/AP]

Critics are intimately watching the referendum, fearing that this is the latest effort by the authorities to legitimise its regularisation connected a continent wherever 8 coups since 2023 successful West and Central Africa person changed the governmental landscape.

The referendum has besides been criticised arsenic a powerfulness drawback by Doumbouya. His military-led authorities missed a December deadline it had acceptable to instrumentality the authorities to civilian regularisation aft helium had seized powerfulness 4 years ago.

A statesmanlike predetermination is scheduled to instrumentality spot successful December.

While the subject person has not yet said if helium would tally successful the statesmanlike election, a transitional charter adopted by his authorities aft it took powerfulness said coup members would beryllium barred from lasting successful the adjacent elections.

Sunday’s ballot is apt to walk arsenic 2 of the salient absorption leaders, Cellou Dalein Diallo and deposed erstwhile President Alpha Conde, person called for a boycott of the vote.

Both Diallo’s and Conde’s parties are presently suspended with Human Rights Watch accusing the subject authorities of disappearing governmental opponents, which it has denied.

The results of the predetermination are expected wrong the adjacent 2 to 3 days, Idris said.